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Varaenna
(A secluded beach north of Jasra - late afternoon, day 15, before Tera
goes
into labor)

(snip from Kris' post/
<Can I?> Sabbith asked hopefully.

<NOOOOOOO!> Sundellath screamed, and Sabbith pouted. <I promise..>She
giggled, <Let me up .. and ..Ê I promise ..Ê to go home ..>

<Promise?> the queen demanded confirmation.

<Promise!> Sundellath giggled, thinking the Queen was going to be in for
a
surprise.
/end snip/

ÊÊÊÊVaraenna nodded. Ê{I'd hoped you'd see things my way,} she told
Sundellath. Ê{There's just one other little thing, though. ÊI almost
forgot
something!} Ê

ÊÊÊ{Huh? ÊHellloooo, didn't we just make a deal?!} Sundellath protested.

ÊÊÊÊ{There's a certain word I would like to hear first,} Varaenna told
the
struggling dragon. Ê{I'm sure you know what it is!}

ÊÊÊÊ{Get real!} Sundy giggled. {I told you my rider just made that up!
Besides if you don't let me up then how can I go home?}

ÊÊÊÊ{If it's good enough that you wanted me to say it, then it's good
enough
for you to say.} Varaenna purred. {I'll even give you a choice...say
uncle,
or agree to let Sabbith play with you!}

ÊÊÊÊ{Forget it!!} Sundellath declared, then squealed as the queen began
to
tickle yet again.   [Noooo!!  Don't...!!!]

ÊÊÊÊ[Let me know as soon as you change your mind,]  Varaenna said as she
looked over at Sabbith, who looked positively forlorn because of
Sundellath's
refusal to let him participate. Ê{And by the way...what about you?} the
queen
demanded, keeping her weight across Sundy while glaring at her
cuddlemate. {I
do NOT remember telling you that you could play your little game with
me!}

ÊÊÊÊ{Um...well...} Sabbith hedged.

ÊÊÊÊ{I'm waiting!} Varaenna told him testily.

ÊÊ Ê{Well...you see...I don't have to!} he blurted quickly.

   Varaenna stared wide-eyed at the dark red dragon.

  [Isn't it great?!] he asked happily.  [My Kay said it was okay to play
anytime with you .. Your rider told him so!} Sabbith laughed happily. {I
was
just saving it for a good moment .. and you told Sundellath you loved to
play, so it seemed the perfect time!}

ÊÊÊÊSundellath realized, to her surprise, that not only wasn't the queen
pressuring her to submit...she wasn't even paying attention anymore.  She
was, however, still absentmindedly tickling the midnight blue dragon
while
keeping her pinned beneath her.  Ê{Hellllooooo!!!} Sundy laughed, the
thrashing of her wings and forelegs throwing up clouds of sand which the
queen somehow managed to totally ignore. {Hey Sabbith...she likes me!
ÊShe
really likes me!! See.. she'd rather keep playing the game with me then
to
let me up to go home!!} ÊShe was laughing out loud in response to what
Varaenna was doing, but didn't find it at *all* funny that both the queen
and
her clutchmate seemed to have completely forgotten her! Ê

ÊÊÊÊVaraenna gaped at Sabbith in astonishment. That would mean that
anytime
the urge to play his game came over him, it would be *her* that he would
come
to play it with! She resolved to talk to Kalewyn about this, as soon as
she
got back to the warren! Ê

ÊÊÊÊMeanwhile, Sundellath's sides were beginning to hurt with laughing so
hard, but there was no way she was going to say Uncle. Not when the queen
had
played such a mean trick on her keeping her away from Sabbith the way she
had.

ÊÊÊÊ{Hello... remember me?} Sundy gasped. ÊShe bucked wildly under the
body
of the queen now, trying the get the attention of the others. {If you
don't
mind.... I would like to get home.. I mean back to my rider sometime
today so
we can start looking for a new.. I mean get home...} Her words were
disjointed, coming as they did in between fits of laughing, but they did
finally get her point across.

ÊÊÊÊVaraenna blinked, looking back over her shoulder at Sundellath.
{Oh...right,} she said, and stopped what she was doing. ÊShe released
Sundellath, and the blue dragon lost no time in scrambling away to a
safer
spot.  ÊVaraenna was usually too stubborn to concede a point, but she
remembered that her real objective was to get Sundellath away from Jasra
as
quickly as possible. ÊAnd then...once she could rest secure in the
knowledge
that her Sabbith wasn't going to leave the warren...she'd deal with this
new
problem. ÊYes, a good, long talk with Kalewyn was definitely in order...

ÊÊÊÊ{All right,} she said happily, as though nothing had happened..
Ê{Let's
go back to the warren, shall we?}

ÊÊÊÊSundellath, still lying on the sand trying to get her breath back,
rolled
her eyes. Ê{This place is crazy,} she grumbled, looking back and forth
between her clutchmate and the queen.

* * * * * * * *
ÊÊÊÊThe three dragons landed in the middle of the green, and Varaenna
immediately started to move in the direction of the dining hall. Ê{Have
you
told your rider you were returning?} she asked. Ê{You did tell her,
didn't
you?} ÊThe queen stared expectantly at the door to the dining hall, then
back
at Sundellath, and then back at the door once again.

ÊÊÊÊ{Naa.. I didn't tell her yet..} The dragon from Telnor admitted.
{She's
talking to Kalewyn right now telling him why we're here... So I'll wait a
little while. Then my rider and I can look for an apartment to live in.}

ÊÊÊÊVaraenna glared at her. Ê{You made a promise, remember?} the queen
demanded Ê{You have to go right now...apartment??} ÊShe turned to
Sabbith.
Ê{What's going on?} she asked. ÊSabbith could only shake his head in
bewilderment, and Varaenna turned back to Sundellath. Ê

ÊÊÊÊ{All right...this had better be good!} the queen told her.

ÊÊÊÊSundy raised her head up and smiled sweetly up at the Queen. {Well I
did
promise you I would go home my "new" queen. And I always keep promises
made
to Queens.. My rider told me that was good manners.. So I came home just
as I
promised I would... Or did you miss me telling you I was living here
now?}

ÊÊÊÊÊ{You're...living...here?} Varaenna asked, staring blankly at the
blue
dragon. Ê{And you let me go through all that trouble for nothing??} ÊShe
felt
like venting her irritation at both of the ex-Telnor dragons, but just
sighed
and shook her head as she realized that there was no longer any point.
ÊSundellath wasn't going anywhere...and there was nothing Varaenna could
do
to keep her from telling Sabbith her news.

ÊÊÊÊÊ{Howdy neighbor!} Sundy was grinning from ear to ear now.

ÊÊÊÊÊVaraenna for her part, looked first at the grinning Sundellath, then
at
the happily smiling Sabbith, and then finally up at the sky as she rolled
her
eyes. Ê{Uncle!] she sighed.

NRPG: Many thanks to Barb for writing Sundy!

Submitted by:

John

Warrenlady Tara & Varaenna

Jasra Warren